1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to containment enclosures and, more particularly, to a glove box for water pit applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of containment enclosures is widespread for bandling and treating materials, particularly hazardous materials, in a controlled or contained environment. In particular, glove boxes are enclosures that generally contain viewing windows, gloves to permit work functions without personnel contamination, access ports, service ports, and a transfer box.
One of the major problems associated with the use of enclosed atmospheric glove boxes is introducing or removing articles without affecting the type of environment in use or without presenting a hazard to personnel and the environment outside of the glove box. Many of these articles, particularly in the nuclear industry, are highly radioactive and may possibly contaminate the surrounding area with radioactive nuclear material if not properly handled. Articles that are in a water environment may present additional handling problems when introducing the article from the water environment into the enclosed atmospheric glove box while maintaining total containment of the article.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to introduce articles directly from a water environment into a contained glove box enclosure and returned back to the water environment while maintaining total containment.